Pony Excess - Espn's 30 On 30 Movie Tonight

[stebo]

I just read an article about this documentary on ESPN tonight. Sounds pretty good. I was really young back then and didn't realize what was going on. Looking forward to seeing the full story about how SMU fell. I thought that you all might want to watch - if you are a football fan and there is no football on Saturday, this will help

[GreenBat]

What do you mean no football???

I'm watching the greatness of the Army/Navy game!

Remember their would be no American football without these great institutions. In this game there are no losers. The winner is this great country, for having these young men protecting this country. GOD BLESS THE US ARMY and NAVY and GOD BLESS AMERICA.

[bstnsportsfan3]

you could watch the SMUT show....or you could go to the UNT basketball game tonight vs Jackson st....i know which one i choose...

Edited December 11, 2010 by bstnsportsfan3

[Mean Green Matt]

you could watch the SMUT show....or you could go to the UNT basketball game tonight vs Jackson st....i know which one i choose...

I am DVR'ing the 30 for 30 so I can watch it after the Basketball Game. The downfall of those cheating SOB's at SMU was before my time, so I am actually pretty interested in seeing how it all happened. I am ready for UNT basketball to kick some Jackson State butt tonight! Go Mean Green!

[stebo]

I am DVR'ing the 30 for 30 so I can watch it after the Basketball Game. The downfall of those cheating SOB's at SMU was before my time, so I am actually pretty interested in seeing how it all happened. I am ready for UNT basketball to kick some Jackson State butt tonight! Go Mean Green!

That is exactly what I did - I DVR everything, can't stand to watch the ads.

[meangreendork]

Got it on DVR. Holy god, this program was much more rotten than I thought about. What I find funny is certain people whining about the punishment and the things that happened afterwards to the program. I almost want to say, "that's what you get."

[Marty]

Very well done documentary. Even some footage of a NT-SMU game from the early '80's. NT QB #8 showed getting sacked.

[meangreen]

That was an unbelievable documentation. Very very well done. Loved it

[VideoEagle]

I didn't watch it last night. But anyone interested in the scandal should get a copy of the book "A Payroll To Keep." Can't remember who wrote it as I loaned my copy out and never got it back. The author got cooperation from almost everyone involved including Bill Clements.

Edited December 12, 2010 by VideoEagle

[NorthTexan95]

I agree that it was an excellent documentry. There's two things that stick out in my mind.

One - I agree when Dale Hansen said that when a booster buys a kid it's really the kid who owns the booster.

Two - SMU was caught because they were stupid. Dale Hansen was only able to nailed them because they were stupid.

[GreenBat]

If that idiot Dale Hansen was able to catch them, that should tell them how stupid they were/are!

[Mean Green Matt]

I watched it after the basketball game last night. SMU was even more slimy then I thought. They deserved everything they got not only because they cheated, but because they were stupid, and kept doing it over and over again.

Also, does anyone else think that Eric Dickerson is one incredibly arrogant SOB. Good grief. Same goes for all the other morons that basically said, "well, we may have done it, but I'll never say a word about it." Sherwood Blount has never even talked on camara about it. They can all suck it, because at the end of the day everything that SMU accomplished was tarnished, and their actions damned their program for 25 years.

I'll take the UNT football history ANY DAY over theirs. I can't wait to play them in a couple years.

[Cooley]

Everyone was cheating! A&M wrote the book. SMU went down because of the media wars in D/FW. I'm happy to name names and what guys got at A&M.

[GreenBat]

Everyone was cheating! A&M wrote the book. SMU went down because of the media wars in D/FW. I'm happy to name names and what guys got at A&M.

Other than Dickerson's Trans Am, I'd be happy to hear what A&M gave and who they gave it to. You can PM me if you don't want to post it on the board.

[cl_1_2008]

My favorite part was when they were recruiting a kid (don't recall the name) that was committed to A&M and they were in a meeting and sat down a briefcase with 20k cash in at and the kid looked at it for a second and said "Coach, that's not even close." That made me laugh.

[PlummMeanGreen]

Didn't have to watch it. Many of us "lived it" with the local TV/Radio media, which included 3 major DFW newspapers since the Dallas Times-Herald was still in business.

It was wild and crazy times for SMU. Yet another missed opportunity by UNT to build it and substantially move ahead of the "dead in the water" 'Stangs in DFW college football but once again......we didn't. (If only UNT students would have approved a new stadium back then and this whole DFW college football scene today would be unbelievably different).

PS: One of the main players in this scandal was SMU football player David Stanley, who had played for the Angleton HS Wildcats and Angleton, Texas, being my birth city. I guess Stanley may still be one of its most famous sons to this day, but not the way he probably preferred.

GMG!

Edited December 12, 2010 by PlummMeanGreen

[Cooley]

Other than Dickerson's Trans Am, I'd be happy to hear what A&M gave and who they gave it to. You can PM me if you don't want to post it on the board.

Hell, this information ain't coming for free!

[Quoner]

I didn't watch it last night. But anyone interested in the scandal should get a copy of the book "A Payroll To Keep." Can't remember who wrote it as I loaned my copy out and never got it back. The author got cooperation from almost everyone involved including Bill Clements.

The author was in the episode and he explained where the quote came from.

I thought it was a bit uneven. Some parts were great, but the justification and absolution of the players was ridiculous. I would have enjoyed more on what folks got and maybe a little less of making ESPN employee Craig James look blameless for the whole thing.

Still, overall, it was a pretty good watch, despite having more exposition than Atlas Shrugged and that one scene in Spaceballs combined.

[Mean Green Matt]

Everyone was cheating! A&M wrote the book. SMU went down because of the media wars in D/FW. I'm happy to name names and what guys got at A&M.

Just because everyone was doing it does not mean that SMU deserved any less then they got. They had their chance to stop after they got caught, but kept doing it anyway. The death penalty rule was even fresh in their mind when they decided to keep the payroll going. SMU went down because of SMU, the media wars just got the momemtum going.

[Baby Arm!]

Just because everyone was doing it does not mean that SMU deserved any less then they got. They had their chance to stop after they got caught, but kept doing it anyway. The death penalty rule was even fresh in their mind when they decided to keep the payroll going. SMU went down because of SMU, the media wars just got the momemtum going.

Yes everyone was cheating and paying players, but the reason SMU got caught in the media war of Dallas was it's own stupidity and arrogance. The other schools that were cheating did it to give the school some plausible deniability. But as SMU??? The were so stupid or arrogant (take your pick) to continue paying by sending cash on handwritten Athletic Dept stationery!, and had the AD staff distributing the payments. At other dirty programs they had the kids get their money from boosters or someone outside the athletic dept.

[emmitt01]

This was a joke of a documentary. The "justifications" laid out on SMU's behalf are beyond ludicrous.

First they start with a "everyone in Dallas wanted a winner because the Cowboys were good...therefore they were under a lot of pressure" backdrop. Hell, they even mention the freakin' Kennedy assasination as a reason Dallas needed some positive pub!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then, they go on to lay out the "everyone in college football cheats, SMU was just trying to be the best they could be" crap.

Then, they argue that UT, aTm, and even Pitt brought this upon SMU because they were jealous. Nobody would ever argue that I'm a UT apologist but this is utter and total crap.

Then, if that weren't enough, they blame a DEAD guy who blew the whistle and present him as a drug addict with sour grapes syndrome. Yes, a dead guy.

Every SMU person interviewed, including that weasel Craig James, tries to trot out that same old entitled and "who me" routine for the entire program.

And the attitude hasn't changed ONE BIT on the hilltop. Pathetic. Truly pathetic.

[UNTflyer]

And college football is still dirty. From Reggie Bush to Cam Newton to who knows who else... the fact is that part of the reason the powerhouses remain powerhouses is because of boosters paying players. I love college football, but there is a lot wrong with the game. There needs to be some serious reform:

• Make booster payments to athletes a state crime
• Ban all agents who pay college players from representing NFL players
• Force college players to repay scholarships if they enter any pro draft and forego graduation (they took an enrollment spot from a kid who wanted to be an engineer or doctor)
• Finish investigations faster. It's ridiculous the Reggie Bush investigation took so long
• Suspend college coaches who knowingly violate NCAA rules for 5 years

[TheColonyEagle]

The disappointing thing is that What ever relevance SMU has in this area is based on their run in the 80s. Sports talk, sports fans in the area...you talk to them about SMU and it all comes back to their allegiance in the SWC and "man, you should have seen them in the 80s" "I remember watching the pony express" " man I would love to see SMU get back to where they were..."

But the only reason they're relevant in this area was the result of the biggest fraud in college football history. Fake, arrogant, superficial alums in a fake, arrogant, superficial city. What a match.

It's actually kind of sad.

The documentary did do a good job of showing the Dallas Good ol Boy network and like many in Dallas, there's no substance to any of it. Throw money at it and dress it up on the outside.....substance be damned.

I do disagree that the death penalty would have that same effect on any program. SMU had no foundation to build on. Alabama, UT, Ohio State, etc would be back in less than 5 years if they were given the death penalty.

A program on no foundation to begin with gets the death penalty, it ruins the program. A program with substance gets the death penalty and it's a set back.

[GrayEagle]

Yes, the Mustangs got what they deserved but some of the instigators got off light; especially Ron Meyer, Chris James and Eric Dickerson. Bobby Collins took the fall for Meyer. SMU's president and AD had to go. That was a given. Nine boosters may have been the heaviest contributors but there were more that received no punishment.

The real losers were the students. Except for those that were players, they had nothing to do with the scandal. Still, they paid for it for most of twenty years. I pray that it never happens to us.

Edited December 12, 2010 by GrayEagle

[Cooley]

Didn't have to watch it. Many of us "lived it" with the local TV/Radio media, which included 3 major DFW newspapers since the Dallas Times-Herald was still in business.

It was wild and crazy times for SMU. Yet another missed opportunity by UNT to build it and substantially move ahead of the "dead in the water" 'Stangs in DFW college football but once again......we didn't. (If only UNT students would have approved a new stadium back then and this whole DFW college football scene today would be unbelievably different).

PS: One of the main players in this scandal was SMU football player David Stanley, who had played for the Angleton HS Wildcats and Angleton, Texas, being my birth city. I guess Stanley may still be one of its most famous sons to this day, but not the way he probably preferred.

GMG!

Stanley attempted a come back with UNT after being out of the game for a few years. Because of his Blue Chip status as a recruit coming out of Angleton, the NT coaches gave him a shot. I don't remember if he didn't make the team or just quit.